Air cleaners are widely used in home and office settings for cleaning the air. An air cleaner can filter the air in order to remove airborne contaminants. An air cleaner can therefore include any type of mechanical filter element comprising a mesh, a weave, a foam, etc. An air cleaner can include an odor absorber element that removes odor-causing particles from the air stream. An air cleaner can further include electrical air cleaning components, such as a collector cell that removes dirt and debris from the airflow of the air cleaner and can include an ionizer.
An air cleaner also includes some manner of air moving device that creates an airflow through the filter element and/or electrical air cleaning components. The air moving device can include one or more speed settings that allow the user to control the level of operation of the air cleaner and the resulting volume and speed of the airflow. The user can manipulate controls provided through a control panel in order to select from available operating features or settings.
In use, a motor converts electrical power into rotation of an impeller. The impeller creates an airflow. It is highly desirable that the electrical power is efficiently transformed into airflow. In addition, it is highly desirable that the airflow is created without undue turbulence and noise. Turbulence and noise decrease efficiency of the air cleaner and increase user dissatisfaction.